"Recall that the August light sweet crude oil contract closed lower for the fifth consecutive week, but the downside momentum had begun easing after the middle of the week. The general pattern holds for Brent as well," said Marc Chandler, global head of currency strategy at Brown Brothers Harriman.

"The technical indicators warn that the market is over-extended and a further bounce is likely," he added. "We look for a move toward $44.00 — $44.50 after closing near $43 before the weekend."

As for the rest of the world, here's the scoreboard as of 8:33 a.m. ET:

The euro is little changed at 1.1206 against the dollar after the Ifo Business Climate survey hit a record 115.1 in June, suggesting German business confidence is booming. Separately, the Italian government has set aside as much as €17 billion to help with the winding down of two collapsed regional lenders, Popolare di Vicenza and Veneto Banca.

The British pound is up by 0.3% at 1.2752 against the dollar. Earlier, UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative Party secured a 1.5 billion pound agreement with the Democratic Unionist Party, giving it a two-seat majority in the House of Commons.

The US dollar index is little changed at 97.36 after durable goods orders fell 1.1% in May, below expectations of a 0.6% drop. Later, Dallas Fed manufacturing will be out at 10:30 a.m. ET.